Chapter 28: Before That, I Will Let Kanae Cut Off My Head
"You're awake?"
A gentle voice sounded in his ear.
Masashi turned his head and saw Kanae Kocho sitting on a chair.
She had been keeping watch here, and upon hearing movement, she immediately stood up and walked over.
Kanae Kocho looked at Masashi's empty sleeves, a hint of sorrow flashing in her eyes.
"How do you feel? Does the wound still hurt?"
She had healed all the external injuries on his body,
but those lost arms—even as the Flower Hashira, who was proficient in pharmacology, she was powerless.
In the Demon Slayer Corps, losing both arms meant the complete end of a swordsman's career.
Masashi did not answer immediately.
He struggled to sit up, leaning against the wall.
His face was as pale as paper, and his eyes held a sense of deathly stillness.
After a long while, he finally spoke slowly.
"Lady Flower Hashira... that demon... is it dead?"
Although he had seen the demon beheaded with his own eyes before losing consciousness, he still wanted to confirm it once more.
That was the murderer who killed his older brother; if he didn't confirm it had completely turned to ash, he would never find peace.
Kanae Kocho nodded and said with a firm tone:
"It's dead.
He has completely dissipated and will not hurt anyone else."
Hearing this, Masashi's tense body relaxed slightly.
But the sadness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
"And..."
Kanae Kocho paused,
"The remains of your companion... I have already asked the 'Kakushi' to send them to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
They will bury him properly, so don't worry."
Masashi's body trembled slightly.
Brother...
That brother who always protected him, always charging at the very front,
now only a cold corpse remained.
"Thank you... Lady Flower Hashira..."
Masashi lowered his head, his voice choking up.
He knew that if Lady Flower Hashira hadn't arrived in time,
he would probably have become that demon's meal by now.
"Truly... thank you very much..."
Masashi wanted to bow, but realized he couldn't even perform the gesture of cupping his hands.
He looked at his empty shoulders, a desolate bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"A pity... I can never hold a blade to slay demons again..."
He was a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps; slaying demons was his reason for living and his only way to avenge his family.
Now that he had lost both arms, he had become a cripple.
Kanae Kocho felt a pang of pain in her heart as she looked at Masashi's despairing expression.
She reached out and gently placed her hand on Masashi's shoulder.
"As long as you're alive, there is hope."
Kanae Kocho said softly,
"Although you can no longer fight with a blade, you can still contribute to the Demon Slayer Corps.
You can go to a Cultivator to help teach newcomers,
or go to the Butterfly Mansion to help care for the wounded.
Your experience and your will are precious treasures."
"And, I believe your brother wouldn't want to see you give up on yourself.
He must hope that you can live on well, carrying his share with you."
At the mention of his brother, Masashi's tears finally burst forth uncontrollably.
He gritted his teeth, not letting himself cry out loud,
but his trembling body betrayed the agony in his heart.
"Brother... I'm sorry... I was too weak..."
Just then, Masashi's peripheral vision caught a figure by the window.
The figure stood quietly by the window, back to the moonlight, face obscured.
But the unique aura about him, an aura etched into Masashi's memory,
instantly ignited the unextinguished fire of rage in his heart.
It's a demon!
It's that male demon who appeared beside Lady Flower Hashira that night!
Masashi's eyes widened instantly, and a startling hatred erupted from his previously deathly gaze.
Disregarding the pain in his body, he struggled to stand up, nearly falling as he lost his balance.
"Lady Flower Hashira! Quick! Kill him!"
Masashi roared hysterically, his voice turning sharp and piercing due to extreme anger.
He stared intently at Tatsu standing by the window;
if looks could kill, Tatsu would probably have been sliced into a thousand pieces by now.
"That is a demon!
Lady Flower Hashira!
Quickly draw your blade and kill him!
He's right there! He's right there!"
Masashi couldn't understand why Lady Flower Hashira would allow a demon to stay here.
Had she not noticed?
No, impossible. A Hashira's perception far exceeds that of ordinary people; there was no way she hadn't noticed.
Then why?
Why didn't she draw her blade?
Hearing Masashi's roar, Kanae Kocho's face showed no sign of surprise.
She seemed to have expected this scene long ago.
She stood up and moved between Masashi and Tatsu.
She did not draw her blade.
This scene left Masashi completely stunned.
"Lady Flower Hashira... what... what are you doing?"
Masashi's voice trembled, his face full of disbelief.
"Are you protecting a demon?
You are a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps!
Isn't it your duty to slay demons?"
Kanae Kocho looked at Masashi, her eyes full of apology but even more so of determination.
"Masashi, calm down."
Kanae Kocho said softly,
"Tatsu is different from other demons.
He doesn't eat humans."
"Huh?"
Masashi looked as if he had heard the world's biggest joke.
He shouted recklessly, his entire face twisting with rage.
"Doesn't eat humans? How could he not eat humans!
What demon doesn't eat humans!"
"My brother... my brother was eaten by a demon!
Right in front of me!
That bastard mocked me while tearing at my brother's corpse!
Do you know that sound?
Do you know the sound of bones being crushed!"
Masashi's roars echoed within the medical clinic.
"When I was in the Demon Slayer Corps, I heard that Lady Flower Hashira harbored sympathy for demons.
At the time, I didn't believe it; I thought, as a Hashira, how could one sympathize with those man-eating monsters?
Those monsters who only know slaughter and have not a shred of humanity."
"But now... you are actually protecting a demon!"
Masashi's eyes were bloodshot, tears flowing down mixed with rage.
"Demons have no humanity!
They are just a pack of beasts in human skin!
As long as it's a demon, it deserves to die!
They all deserve to die!"
In the face of Masashi's questioning and accusations,
Kanae Kocho did not defend herself, nor did she get angry.
She simply stood there quietly, bearing all of Masashi's rage.
She knew Masashi's pain.
She had seen far too many people like Masashi who had everything taken from them by demons.
Their anger was reasonable;
their hatred was justified.
However, Tatsu was different.
He retained human emotions;
he restrained the instinct to eat humans;
he even thought and lived like a human.
If even a demon who tried so hard to live like a human was to be slain,
then the 'humanity' that the Demon Slayer Corps protects,
what exactly is it?
"I'm sorry, Masashi."
Kanae Kocho lowered her head, her voice soft yet carrying an unquestionable determination.
"I know you cannot accept this, and I understand your pain.
However, I will not slay Tatsu."
She raised her head.
"Because I believe that not all demons are evil.
As long as they still possess a human heart, as long as they haven't harmed humans,
even a demon has the right to live."
"This is my conviction."
Masashi looked at Kanae Kocho blankly.
At this moment, the charisma radiating from Lady Flower Hashira made him feel dazed.
That kind of gentleness was not weakness, but a strength capable of embracing everything.
But...
Masashi turned to look at Tatsu by the window.
The demon still didn't say a word, just watched it all quietly.
There was no mockery or killing intent in his eyes, only an indescribable depth.
Masashi gritted his teeth.
"I don't believe it... I don't believe it..."
Masashi murmured to himself, tears blurring his vision once more.
"A demon is a demon... one day... he will eat someone... when that time comes... you will regret it... Lady Flower Hashira..."
"If that day truly comes,"
Tatsu suddenly spoke up,
"if I really can't control the urge to eat humans..."
He looked at Masashi, his gaze calm and cold.
"Before that happens, I will let Kanae cut off my head."